The Hours Per Patient Day (HPPD) report in Empeon Workforce provides healthcare organizations with a critical metric to evaluate staffing efficiency and patient care levels. For clients utilizing Empeon’s Time and Attendance system, the HPPD Card provides backend settings used to help configure this report. These settings allow facilities to define which Cost Centers, Positions, and Earnings should be included in the calculation, ensuring the report aligns with operational requirements and provides accurate insights into care delivery.
Much of the configuration within this Card is initially set up by Empeon's Implementation Team, but it can be maintained and adjusted as needed. Understanding these settings is helpful for making minor changes, but for significant adjustments, it’s recommended to contact Empeon Customer Support for assistance.
To view and maintain these settings, navigate to the Attendance section of the Company tab and select the HPPD Card.
The HPPD Card contains three categories of settings: HPPD Settings, HPPD Positions, and HPPD Earnings.
HPPD Settings - Links the appropriate Cost Center, in most cases, the Cost Center associated with Positions, to ensure staffing hours are categorized correctly for HPPD reporting.
HPPD Positions - Defines which job positions should be included in the HPPD calculation. This ensures that only relevant roles, such as nurses and aides, are considered, excluding positions that don't contribute directly to patient care. When adding the HPPD Positions, the follow fields are prompted:
- Code - Enter the unique code for the position. While it is recommended that this matches the Position Code set up within its respective Cost Center for consistency, it is not required to match.
- Description - Provide any additional description for this code, if desired.
- Budget - Defines the planned or expected staffing hours for a given position. Entering budgeted hours allows for comparisons between actual and budgeted staffing levels, helping identify discrepancies like understaffing or overstaffing. While this field is optional, it can provide valuable insights into labor cost management and staffing efficiency when tracked.
- Direct Care - This toggle identifies whether the position is directly involved in patient care, such as nurses or aides, and should be included in HPPD reporting. In most cases, this setting is toggled on because HPPD reporting is required for these types of positions. However, if there is a need to track non-direct care staff in the HPPD report, you can still add these positions and leave this setting off.
After adding the appropriate HPPD Positions, navigate to the Cost Center linked within the HPPD Settings (in most cases this is the CC for "Positions").
For each HPPD Position that was added, you will need to edit the respective Position set up within the Cost Center and update the field for "HPPD Position" to the appropriate HPPD Position code.
HPPD Earnings - Identifies the types of earnings, such as regular hours or overtime, to be included in HPPD reporting. This ensures that only care-related hours are counted, excluding non-care hours like paid time off or training.
When adding the HPPD Earnings, the follow fields are prompted:
- Code - Enter the unique code for the earning. While it is recommended that this matches the Earning Code set up within Earnings & Rates Card for consistency, it is not required to match.
- Description - Provide any additional description for this code, if desired.
- Split Agency - This toggle determines whether hours associated with the earning should be divided between multiple Cost Centers or entities. When toggled "on," the system allocates hours worked under this Earning Code proportionally across all applicable Cost Centers. This is useful when employees work Shifts that span multiple departments, units, or facilities. If toggled "off," all hours are attributed solely to the primary Cost Center linked to the earning.
After adding the appropriate HPPD Earnings, navigate to the Earnings & Rates Card found within the Company tab.
For each Earning Code, a field for "HPPD Position" will now be available. For each HPPD Earning that was added, you will need to edit the respective Earning Code and update the field for "HPPD Position" to the appropriate HPPD Earning code.
For any questions relating to any of the HPPD Settings, or guidance with significant adjustments being made to these settings, please contact Empeon Customer Support.